Buses run by a volunteer service damaged by "opportunist vandals"

Damage including smashed windows occurred on the night of Monday 6, in Berwick, and was discovered by volunteers at the company the next morning.

The volunteers hope that their insurance will cover the cost, which they anticipate to be in the thousands.

Kevin Fryer, Operations Director at Cuckmere Buses, said: “I can confirm that two out of our fleet of seven 16-seater minibuses were damaged, we believe by opportunist vandals. One bus suffered damage which has been temporarily repaired to keep it roadworthy while parts are awaited but the second bus suffered more severe damage and is still off the road out of use.

“We are a local charity that has been operating for over 45 years from our base in Berwick. We operate public timetabled services, summer leisure services and other special services for local events such as Eastbourne tennis and the Charleston Festival, as well as our vehicles being available for private hire. We have no paid employees - we are staffed solely by volunteers who give up their time and effort to provide these services for the local communities.

“This attack on two of our buses has stretched our resources and caused much additional work (and cost) although we are hopeful that insurance will cover a large proportion of the cost. It is extremely disappointing that this has happened and is a slap in the face to all those volunteers that try so hard to provide reliable services to the local area.”

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